In the Spotlight

Wes Anderson, honorary guest

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A leading figure in the world of animation, the talented Wes Anderson will be joining us at the Annecy Festival this year. An American director, screenwriter and producer whose distinct and recognisable style is second to none. He embraced the various animation techniques, especially stop-motion, to create his authentic and beloved works. His visual choices (retro aesthetics, symmetry, pastel colours), his use of music as well as his directing style with linear shots and barely expressive characters are the fabric of his unique, personal style, and are an infinite source of inspiration for young filmmakers. It was for these reasons in particular that he was awarded the Cristal for a Feature Film and the Audience Award at the 2010 Annecy Festival for Fantastic Mr. Fox. The Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Wes Anderson are bound together by a great love affair that will be marked this year by the author’s presence. 

Wes Anderson will also be hosting an exclusive Masterclass where he will talk about his approach to animation film, notably stop-motion and his directing methods.

An Honorary Cristal for Terry Gilliam…

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The Annecy Festival is thrilled to present the esteemed filmmaker Terry Gilliam with an award. His multiple talents in his various roles as director, screenwriter, actor, and cartoonist have earned him widespread acclaim in the industry. Immensely prolific, he is behind numerous major live-action works including Brazil and 12 Monkeys, and animation works such as the collages in the TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus, and Storytime. His films often take a critical stance on society and his unique, poetic universe has made a significant impact on comedy, animation, and film. 

As well as receiving the Honorary Cristal, Terry Gilliam will be giving a Masterclass in which he will divulge his thoughts and experiences, a unique and incredibly inspiring moment, this is an absolute must-attend!

The Annecy Festival is proud to pay tribute to this talented filmmaker who has inspired and continues to inspire film and animation professionals the world over. 

... and one for Pierre Hébert

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This year, the Annecy Festival will award another Honorary Cristal this time to Pierre Hébert, a Quebecois multi-disciplinary artist and animation film director. 

Over the course of his career, he has directed more than forty films, including three feature films, such as Bazin's Film in 2017 and Mount Fuji Seen from a Moving Train in 2021. After working for 35 years at the National Film Board of Canada, he directed around twenty animation short films and a feature film co-produced with France, The Human Plant, which won the Best Feature Film Award from the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma in 1996. Pierre Hébert went on to publish several books about the cinema and drawing and began directing his current project, which combines animation and documentary, Places and Monuments. A leading name in animation, he received the Quebecois "Albert-Tessier" Award" for his work in 2015, an honorary doctorate from Emily Carr University of Art and Design Vancouver in 2018 and became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2022.

The 2024 Annecy Festival will use the opportunity of screening the film Scratches of Life: The Art of Pierre Hébert to highlight the innovative nature of his work over the last 60 years and present him with an Honorary Cristal.

Alain Chabat and his Astérix

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The acclaimed Alain Chabat will present his new animated series for Netflix, Astérix and Obélix, The Big Fight at a Screening Event during the 2024 Annecy Festival. French actor, director, screenwriter, comedian, producer and TV host, Alain Chabat is a well-known personality in French cinema and comedy. After acting in films including À la folie, La Cité de la peur and Gazon maudit, he turned his hand to directing with Didier then the hugely successful Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cleopatre. 

Currently, with Fabrice Joubert, he is directing the eagerly awaited series Astérix and Obélix, The Big Fight, a modern take on the iconic comic book, produced by Netflix and Alain Goldman (TAT Productions) in collaboration with Les Éditions Albert René.

Alain Chabat will honour us with his presence at the Screening Event, which will provide an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the creation of this series, a special screening before the series’ release on Netflix in the first semester of 2025.

Andy Serkis, special guest 

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The legendary actor, who played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will honour us with his presence at a Screening Event followed by a conversation on the new opus The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Andy Serkis is a British actor, director and producer with many roles and productions to his credit. He started his career as a voice actor and his breakthrough came with his motion-capture roles such as King Kong. He subsequently worked for two major franchises: Marvel, in the roll of Klaw for the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Snoke in the third Star Wars trilogy. His passion for motion-capture technology led him to co-found The Imaginarium with Jonathan Cavendish in 2011. Serkis began directing in 2017 with Breathe, and later the highly anticipated Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

The Annecy Festival is delighted to welcome this esteemed film and animation professional as a special guest at our 2024 edition.

Regina Pessoa, Patron of the 2024 Le Campus Mifa

This year, Regina Pessoa, long-time friend of the Festival and this year’s poster illustrator, succeeds Jorge R. Gutierrez and takes the stage as patron of Le Campus Mifa to inspire this year’s future animation talents.

She will present a Masterclass on 11^th June, in which she will divulge her creative process with the animation students and young talents.

Portuguese Artist, Illustrator and Director Regina Pessoa conveys her personal, distinct and creative vision in her art. Her first film, The Night, takes its inspiration from her childhood, subsequently influenced by various animation engraving techniques she directed animation films including Tragic Story with Happy Ending in 2005, Cristal for a Short Film at the Annecy Festival, TPS Cineculte Award for a Short Film, and International Jury Special Award at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival. Her films have been screened all over the world, notably in revered museums such as the Rijeka Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Musée de l’Orangerie.

The Annecy Festival and the Mifa are thrilled to endorse Regina Pessoa, who is often present and represented at Annecy, and whose work is held in very high regard.

Mifa Animation Industry Award

The 2024 Mifa Animation Industry Award is presented to Ankama and its founder Anthony Roux. Anthony Roux (aka Tot) is an author, screenwriter, filmmaker and producer as well as Creative Director at Ankama, which he co-founded more than ten years ago. Ankama is an independent digital creation group that specialises in entertainment and the gaming world, famous for the online video game DOFUS. Over the course of his career, Anthony Roux dreamed up the quirkily, colourful epic Krosmoz universe that has since been developed into a number of media outlets: video games, comics, animation and now a feature film. He also created the transmedia piece Made in Ankama where each element enriches the game’s world as a whole as well as the characters who inhabit it. At the Annecy Festival, he will be presenting a Masterclass on Friday 14^th June in the XR&Games Area.

A Golden Ticket for Bonnie Arnold

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The highly acclaimed American Producer Bonnie Arnold receives a Golden Ticket, a lifetime accreditation for the Annecy Festival!

A skilled filmmaker and driving force behind imaginative storytelling, Bonnie Arnold is a two-time Academy Award®-nominee. A prolific producer, she has consistently crafted stories that move, delight and thrill the audience, particularly focusing on storytelling for all kinds of productions, elevating animation to an art form. Arnold produces a wide range of formats from the seminal feature film by Disney Toy Story, to the classic by Sony Pictures The Last Station. Currently, she is producing an original Peanuts feature film, directed by Steve Martino, which will be broadcast on Apple+. She is also Delegated Producer for the film That Christmas, written by Richard Curtis and directed by Simon Otto, to be presented in the Work in Progress at the Annecy Festival and due for release later in the year. Bonnie Arnold also produced all three of the blockbuster franchise How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and each opus received an Academy Awards® nomination. As a leading producer, she was elected on to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Board of Governors in 2018 and Vice-President to chair the Membership Committee 2023.

The Annecy Festival is thrilled to present a Golden Ticket to Bonnie Arnold during the Academy’s cocktail reception on Thursday 13^th June.